In Looking for Loyalty, Trump Asked F.B.I. Official How He Voted

Andrew G. McCabe in May 2017. He was acting director of the F.B.I. at the time.Credit
Al Drago/The New York Times

WASHINGTON — President Trump asked the man he was considering as temporary F.B.I. director how he had voted in the 2016 presidential election, according to a person familiar with the discussion.

The question was directed to Andrew G. McCabe, the bureau’s deputy director. Mr. Trump abruptly fired the director of the F.B.I., James B. Comey, in May, and at the time, the president openly discussed the need for any successor to be “loyal,” according to an adviser to the president.

The week that Mr. Comey was fired, Mr. McCabe met with Mr. Trump a handful of times, a person familiar with the meetings said.

It was at one of those meetings that Mr. Trump asked Mr. McCabe whom he had voted for, another person familiar with the encounters said. Mr. McCabe said he had not voted. The exchange was first reported by The Washington Post.

At their final meeting, Mr. Trump offered Mr. McCabe the job and told him he planned to give him the role of acting director. The president also said that he planned to make an appearance that week at F.B.I. Headquarters to bolster morale. Mr. McCabe told Mr. Trump that it would be a risky move after firing a well-respected director, so the president scuttled the trip, citing scheduling conflicts.

For weeks, Mr. Trump and his allies have focused their ire on Mr. McCabe. Mr. McCabe’s wife was a candidate for Virginia State Senate in 2015, and she received donations from the “super PAC” supporting Terry McAuliffe, the state’s governor at the time, who was a longtime ally of Hillary Clinton’s.

A White House official confirmed Tuesday night that Mr. Trump had asked the question, saying it was in the context of first asking about Mr. McCabe’s family, which led to a discussion about Mr. McAuliffe and then to how Mr. McCabe had voted. The F.B.I. declined to comment.